2009 World's Strongest Man | |||
---|---|---|---|
Competition information | |||
Dates | 26 September - 3 October 2009 | ||
Venue | Fort Saint Elmo / Malta International Airport / Blue Grotto / Grand Hotel Excelsior | ||
Location | Valetta | ||
Country | Malta | ||
Atletes participating | 30 | ||
Nations participating | 17 | ||
Champion(s) | |||
Žydrūnas Savickas | |||
|
The World's Strongest Man 2009 was the 32nd edition of World's Strongest Man and took place in Valletta, Malta from 26 September to 3 October 2009. It was sponsored by PartyPoker.com. It was anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet." [1] The anticipation was based on the organisers ensuring invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body. In previous years, the schism between the International Federation of Strength Athletes and the organisers of WSM had meant that certain athletes were forbidden to compete, undermining the credentials of the competition.
The official qualifying competition for the 2009 WSM was the newly created Giants Live tour. This had taken the place of the World's Strongest Man Super Series, although the latter continued to run with a separate pool of athletes. However, the weakening of the IFSA, due to the economic pressures affecting the whole of the strength athletics world at this time, had led to the breaking down of barriers between the various concurrent circuits. Strength athletes were able to compete in more than one circuit and did so, with a cross over of athletes between the Giants Live circuit, the Strongman Champions League and the Strongman Super Series. In an interview with Ironmind, a source close to the WSM decision makers said, "World’s Strongest Man has never stopped the world’s best strongmen from going to WSM and now that the world of strongman is getting much closer, it appears that we will be able to have every top athlete in the world there [this year]." This led to Ironmind stating that the World’s Strongest Man 2009 promises to be the best one yet. Such is the status of WSM that Ironmind also stated that "If you are a leading strongman competitor, or want to be recognized as one, the most important thing at this point is to get an invitation to the 2009 World’s Strongest Man contest." [2]
This ethos led to a mixture of qualifying criteria applied. Mariusz Pudzianowski qualified, by virtue of being the defending WSM champion. A further eight competitors were selected based on their showing on Giants Live (Brian Shaw; Derek Poundstone; Travis Ortmayer; Mikhail Koklyaev (injured so did not compete); Richard Skog; Mark Felix; Jarek Dymek; and Stefan Solvi Petursson). In addition “the top five from Strongman Champions League were taken into account”, in a deal struck with the relatively new organisation which had already made deals with such high profile tournaments as Fortissimus. The IMG committee also developed a list of wild card invitations. [2] This gave them the flexibility to invite the very top athletes in the world who were not part of the official qualifying tour, or subsequent agreements with other bodies. Through this avenue Zydrunas Savickas, six time winner of the Arnold's Strongest Man, IFSA World Champion, and Fortissimus winner, deemed by many as the strongest man in the world was invited. Also, those who performed well in the revamped Strongman Super Series also received invites as well as podium finishers in certain one off events.
The 2009 WSM line-up was widely agreed to have been one of, if not the best ever. Every major federation and Strongman competition was represented. Among those competing were the current and 5-time World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski (also the last man to win the World Strongman Cup); 2-time IFSA World Champion and reigning Fortissimus champion Zydrunas Savickas, titled the Strongest Man on the Planet, (also the Strongman Champions League winner); and that year's Arnold Strongman Classic champion, Derek Poundstone, (also the current Strongman Super Series overall champion). Additionally, a former World's Strongest Man, Phil Pfister, the Highlander World Champion Sebastian Wenta, the Rolling Thunder world champion, Mark Felix, and 15 current national champions and a former World Champion in the 105 kg class. So strong was the line-up that Tarmo Mitt, four times a WSM finalist, was only among the reserves. The competitors held, between them, at least 15 strongman world records.
Source: [3]
Name | Nationality | WSM record | Other Strongman Achievements |
---|---|---|---|
Mariusz Pudzianowski | Poland | 5 time World's Strongest Man champion (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) 2nd place 2006 World's Strongest Man, 4th place 2000 | 2 time World Strongman Cup overall champion 2006, 2007 4 time Strongman Super Series overall World Champion |
Jarek Dymek | Poland | 4th place 2005 World's Strongest Man | Europe's Strongest Man 2005 |
Alexander Klyushev | Russia | Russia's Strongest Man 2008 Second place in World's Strongest Nation 2008 | |
Richard Skog | Norway | 2009 Norway's strongest man 2nd place 2009 Giants Live Norway | |
Mark Felix | England | 4th place 2006 World's Strongest Man | 2 time Rolling Thunder World Champion and World Record Holder IFSA Britain's Strongest Man 2005 |
Stefán Sölvi Pétursson | Iceland | Iceland's Strongest Man 2009 (and 2008 IFSA) 3rd place Giants Live Poland 2009 | |
Travis Ortmayer | United States | 5th place 2008 World's Strongest Man | 3rd at Arnold Strongman Classic 2009 2nd place 2005 IFSA Pan-American Championships 1st place 2008 Strongman Super Series Madison Square Garden Grand Prix 1st place 2009 Giants Live Norway |
Derek Poundstone | United States | 2nd place 2008 World's Strongest Man | 2 time America's Strongest Manchampion 2007 & 2008 2009 Arnold Strongman Classic champion 2008 Fortissimus champion Strongman Super Series overall World Champion 2008, 1st place 2008 Strongman Super Series Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 1st place 2009 Giants Live Mohegan Sun Grand Prix 4th place 2007 IFSA Strongman World Championships 2nd place 2007 World's Strongest Team |
Brian Shaw | United States | 3rd place Fortissimus 2009 Winner of 2009 FIT Expo | |
Phil Pfister | United States | 2006 World's Strongest Man champion 4th place 1998, 2001, 2007, 2008 | 3rd place Arnold Strongman Classic 2002 3 time runner-up America's Strongest Man |
Kevin Nee | United States | 6th place 2007 World's Strongest Man(youngest competitor to ever make the finals) | Youngest ever competitor in WSM in 2005 2nd place 2007 Mohegan Sun Grand Prix |
Zydrunas Savickas | Lithuania | 2nd place World's Strongest Man 2002-2004 | Six time winner of Arnold Strongman Classic 2003-2008 2 time winner IFSA Strongman World Championships 2005 & 2006 2008 Strongman Champions League overall winner 2009 Fortissimus champion 2004 Strongman Super Series overall World Champion 1st place 2008 & 2009 World Log Lift Championships World Record Holder in 8 separate Strongman events 10 time winner Lithuania's Strongest Man 1st place 2007 World's Strongest Team |
Jimmy Laureys | Belgium | 2008 Belgium's Strongest Man | |
Terry Hollands | England | 3rd WSM 2007 | Britain's Strongest Man 2007 UK's Strongest Man 2005 England's Strongest Man (WSM) 2009 |
Jimmy Marku | England | Britain's Strongest Man 2008 UK's Strongest Man 2009 England's Strongest Man 2006-2008 | |
Laurence Shahlaei | England | England's Strongest Man 2009 | |
Darren Sadler | England | 2007 Champion IFSA World Strongman Challenge u105k 2nd 2005 World Championships u105k(IFSA) | |
Sebastian Wenta | Poland | 2nd at 2007 WSM | Highlander World Champion (07,08,09) 3rd at 2008 Fortissimus |
Johannes Arsjo | Sweden | 4th Place Viking Power Challenge 2009 | |
Martin Wildauer | Austria | 3rd Strongman Champions League Finland Grand Prix 2009 | |
Dave Ostlund | United States | 3rd WSM 2008 | 1st Venice Beach Super Series 2007 3rd Madison Square Garden Super Series 2008 |
Marshall White | United States | Bucharest WSMSS Grand Prix 2009 winner | |
Agris Kazelniks | Latvia | 2nd Strongman Champions League Holland Grand Prix 2009 | |
Andrus Murumets | Estonia | Estonia's Strongest Man (02 and 05) Multiple wins in Strongman Champions League Grand Prixs 3rd 2007 Arnold Strongman Classic | |
Konstantin Ilin | Ukraine | 2009 Ukraine's Strongest Man | |
Florian Trimpl | Germany | 2009 Germany's Strongest Man | |
Ettiene Smit | South Africa | 6 times South Africa's Strongest Man | |
Ervin Katona | Serbia | 2nd place in 2008 Strongman Champions League | |
Christian Savoie | Canada | 2009 Canada's Strongest Man | |
Louis Philippe Jean | Canada | 2008 Canada's Strongest Man | |
Tarmo Mitt | Reserve:Estonia | 5th in 2006 4 consecutive finals (2005–08) | 6x Estonia's Strongest Man 2nd overall in 2006 World Strongman Cup 2nd Sweden Super Series 2008 |
Simon Sulaiman | Reserve:Netherlands / Syria | Holland's Strongest Man 2009 |
The 25 competitors were split into five separate heats, each consisting of six events. After each event each competitor was given points, from 5 for first to 1 for last. Half points occurred if more than one competitor has the same result, and no points were scored if a competitor did not take part in an event. The points were tallied after the six events and the two competitors with the most points from each heat progressed to the final. The final consisted of seven events and the champion was the competitor with the most points after all of the events.
The Head referee was Colin Bryce, assisted by Svend Karlsen (the 2001 World's Strongest Man). Jouko Ahola, World's Strongest Man winner from 1997 and 1999, was the equipment manager.
There were a total of 15 different events used in the competition:
In the Group stages the a mixture of the following events were used:
In the final:
Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley | Event 2 Truck Pull | Event 3 Squat Lift | Event 4 Carwalk | Event 5 Dumbbell Press | Event 6 Atlas Stones |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 (34pts) | Derek Poundstone | United States | 1 (38.71s) | 1 (42.66s) | 2 (6 in 30.02s) | 1 (19.09s) | 1 (9 reps) | 2 (4 stones in 25.1s) |
4 (18pts) | Jimmy Marku | England | 2 (44.06s) | 6 (1m 07.47s) | 1 (6 in 25.57s) | 5 (12.3m) | 4= (0 reps) | 3 (4 stones in 59.6s) |
WD (after Rd 5) | Kevin Nee | United States | 6 (16.6m) | 5 (1m 05.59s) | 3 (6 in 31.19s) | 3 (46.53s) | 4= (0 reps) | WD |
3 (21pts) | Konstiantyn Ilin | Ukraine | 5 (1m 06.49s) | 2 (50.08s) | 4 (6 in 31.85s) | 4 (49.34s) | 2 (8 reps) | 4 (2 stones in 37.42s) |
2 (25pts) | Louis-Philippe Jean | Canada | 3 (46.00s) | 3 (58.28s) | 5 (5 in 26.38s) | 2 (26.6s) | 3 (6 reps) | 1 (5 stones in 48.73s) |
WD (after Rd 2) | Sebastian Wenta | Poland | 4 (54.37s) | 4 (58.37s) | WD | WD | WD | WD |
Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley | Event 2 Truck Pull | Event 3 Dead Lift | Event 4 Fingal's Fingers | Event 5 Keg Toss | Event 6 Atlas Stones |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 (30pts) | Brian Shaw | United States | 2 (22.79s) | 1 (42.19s) | 3 (7 in 35.97s) | 2 (5 in 31.34s) | 2 (8 in 29.41s) | 2 (5 stones in 29.27s) |
4 (17pts) | Mark Felix | England | 3 (24.13s) | 5 (51.56s) | 1 (7 in 31.36s) | 5 (4 in 34.15s) | 6 (4 in 1m15:00s) | 5 (5 stones in 48.49s) |
6 (12.5pts) | Marshall White | United States | 6 (28.67s) | 6 (56.97s) | 6 (4 in 17.67s) | 3 (5 in 56.67s) | 4= (6 in 1m15:00s) | 4 (5 stones in 37.67s) |
5 (13.5pts) | Martin Wildauer | Austria | 4 (25.28s) | 4 (50.94s) | 4 (7 in 36.26s) | 6 (4 in 56.68s) | 4= (6 in 1m15:00s) | 6 (4 stones in 30.90s) |
3 (21pts) | Stefan Solvi Petursson | Iceland | 5 (26.78s) | 3 (50.07s) | 5 (6 in 31.57s) | 4 (4 in 29.22s) | 1 (8 in 23.53s) | 3 (5 stones in 30.43s) |
1 (32pts) | Zydrunas Savickas | Lithuania | 1 (22.63s) | 2 (43.53s) | 2 (7 in 31.64s) | 1 (5 in 31.06s) | 3 (8 in 30.19s) | 1 (5 stones in 28.20s) |
Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley | Event 2 Truck Pull | Event 3 Dead Lift | Event 4 Carwalk | Event 5 Dumbbell Press | Event 6 Atlas Stones |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 (17.5pts) | Alexander Klyushev | Russia | 6 (49.83s) | 5 (1m10.06s) | 4 (7 in 45.97s) | 3 (25.06s) | 1= (6 reps) | 5 (4 in 38.27s) |
3 (22pts) | Darren Sadler | England | 4 (45.17s) | 4 (1m02.31s) | 1 (7 in 35.19s) | 5 (47.41s) | 3 (4 reps) | 3 (4 in 35.85s) |
4 (20.5pts) | Ervin Katona | Serbia | 3 (44.12s) | 3 (49.22s) | 3 (7 in 43.03s) | 4 (28.28s) | 4= (3 reps) | 4 (4 in 37.14s) |
6 (7pts) | Jimmy Laureys | Belgium | 5 (49.53s) | 6 (1m10.91s) | 5 (5 in 33.07s) | 6 (5.8m) | 6 (0 reps) | 6 (4 in 39.21s) |
2 (27.5pts) | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Poland | 2 (37.81s) | 2 (45.40s) | 2 (7 in 36.50s) | 2 (20.72s) | 4= (3 reps) | 2 (5 in 33.91s) |
1 (30.5pts) | Phil Pfister | United States | 1 (35.90s) | 1 (40.91s) | 6 (4 in 23.25s) | 1 (20.30s) | 1= (6 reps) | 1 (5 in 24.88s) |
Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley | Event 2 Truck Pull | Event 3 Squat Lift | Event 4 Carwalk | Event 5 Keg Toss | Event 6 Atlas Stones |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 (15.5pts) | Agris Kazelniks | Latvia | 6 (33.85s) | 5 (56.88s) | 3 (6 in 32.27s) | 4 (25.63s) | 4= (4 in 1m15s) | 4 (4 in 47.43s) |
4 (20pts) | Ettiene Smit | South Africa | 5 (25.58s) | 6 (1m02.50s) | 2 (6 in 27.48s) | 2 (22.66s) | 1 (8 in 25.89s) | 6 (3 in 51.19s) |
3 (22pts) | Johannes Arsjo | Sweden | 1 (22.09s) | 4 (56.32s) | 4 (6 in 36.65s) | 6 (34.41s) | 2 (7 in 1m15s) | 3 (5 in 35.23s) |
1 (26pts) | Laurence Shahlaei | England | 2 (23.84s) | 1 (45.42s) | 1 (7 in 35.65s) | 1 (21.87s) | 6 (3 in 1m15s) | 5 (3 in 25.54s) |
5 (19.5pts) | Richard Skog | Norway | 4 (25.03s) | 2 (46.75s) | 5 (4 in 18.05s) | 5 (32.22s) | 4= (4 in 1m15s) | 2 (5 in 29.97s) |
2 (23pts) | Travis Ortmayer | United States | 3 (24.15s) | 3 (49.13s) | 6 (2 in 7.57s) | 3 (24.44s) | 3 (6 in 1m15s) | 1 (5 in 27.96s) |
Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Medley | Event 2 Truck Pull | Event 3 Dead Lift | Event 4 Fingal's Fingers | Event 5 Keg Toss | Event 6 Atlas Stones |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 (26pts) | Andrus Murumets | Estonia | 1 (34.38s) | 4 (47.07s) | 2 (6 in 30.89s) | 4 (4 in 45.45s) | 2= (6 in 1m15s) | 2 (5 in 30.03s) |
4 (18pts) | Christian Savoie | Canada | 3 (37.78s) | 2 (45.91s) | 4 (6 in 38.79s) | 6 (3 in 22.83s) | 6 (4 in 1m15s) | 3 (5 in 32.85s) |
2 (26pts) | Dave Ostlund | United States | 5 (42.15s) | 3 (46.28s) | 3 (6 in 30.96s) | 1 (5 in 33.84s) | 2= (6 in 1m15s) | 1 (5 in 26.66s) |
6 (12pts) | Florian Trimpl | Germany | 4 (41.98s) | 5 (57.43s) | 6 (5 in 32.74s) | 5 (4 in 49.85s) | 5 (5 in 1m15s) | 5 (4 in 32.66s) |
5 (15pts) | Jarek Dymek | Poland | 6 (46.40s) | 6 (16.2m) | 5 (5 in 24.30s) | 3 (4 in 32.47s) | 1 (7 in 1m15s) | 6 (4 in 34.49s) |
1 (29pts) | Terry Hollands | England | 2 (36.41s) | 1 (40.50s) | 1 (7 in 32.70s) | 2 (4 in 27.83s) | 2= (6 in 1m15s) | 4 (5 in 44.05s) |
Dates: 1, 2, 3 September 2009. Results published at Official WSM site
Position | Name | Nationality | Event 1 Fingal's Fingers | Event 2 Medley Giant Farmer's Walk | Event 3 Plane Pull | Event 4 Overhead Lift Apollon's Axle | Event 5 Boat Pull | Event 6 Car Deadlift | Event 7 Atlas Stones |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 (58pts) | Žydrūnas Savickas | Lithuania | 01 (5 in 28.69s WR) | 04 (36.20s) | 02 (40.24s) | 01 (9 lifts) | 08 (1m02.94s) | 01 (11 lifts) | 02 (5 in 24.63s) |
02 (53pts) | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Poland | 06 (5 in 36.47s) | 01 (25.05s) | 05 (40.91s) | 02= (8 lifts) | 02 (39.38s) | 02= (9 lifts) | 05 (5 in 26.57s) |
03 (49pts) | Brian Shaw | United States | 03 (5 in 32.37s) | 07 (48.80s) | 03= (40.53s) | 05 (6 lifts) | 01 (32.44s) | 04= (8 lifts) | 04 (5 in 25.62s) |
04 (46pts) | Derek Poundstone | United States | 05 (5 in 35.38s) | 02 (31.63s) | 06 (41.12s) | 02= (8 lifts) | 07 (1m06.14s) | 02= (9 lifts) | 06 (5 in 27.03s) |
05 (45.5pts) | Travis Ortmayer | United States | 04 (5 in 34.85s) | 10 (45.05m) | 03 (40.53s) | 04 (7 lifts) | 03 (45.88s) | 06 (7 lifts) | 01 (5 in 24.29s) |
06 (41pts) | Terry Hollands | England | 08 (5 in 43.07s) | 06 (37.13s) | 01 (38.19s) | 09= (2 lifts) | 04 (47.07s) | 04= (8 lifts) | 03 (5 in 25.22s) |
07 (28.5pts) | Phil Pfister | United States | 07 (5 in 37.57s) | 05 (36.86s) | 07 (42.56s) | 06= (5 lifts) | 05 (50.89s) | 10 (0 lifts) | 07 (5 in 28.67s) |
08 (25pts) | Dave Ostlund | United States | 02 (5 in 32.08s) | 09 (1m12.37s) | 08 (45.53s) | 08 (4 lifts) | 09 (1m06.14s) | 08 (5 lifts) | 08 (5 in 32.13s) |
09 (23.5pts) | Laurence Shahlaei | England | 09 (4 in 38.03s) | 03 (33.54s) | 09 (45.54s) | 09= (2 lifts) | 06 (51.13s) | 07 (6 lifts) | 10 (4 in 28.03s) |
10 (14.5pts) | Louis-Philippe Jean | Canada | 10 (4 in 44.11s) | 08 (50.45s) | 10 (46.69s) | 06= (5 lifts) | 10 (12.3m) | 09 (3 lifts) | 09 (5 in 51.47s) |
In the USA the event was broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 in January 2010, on Thursday 7 January and Saturday 9 January, with some repeat screenings on Sunday 10, 17 and 24 January. Further screenings in late February and March are planned. [5]
In the UK Bravo obtained the rights to screen both The Giants Live Tour (the official qualifying tour for The World's Strongest Man) as well as the finals. Giants Live was shown on three consecutive days from Saturday 26 December 2009 to Monday 28 December. The finals were broadcast over six consecutive Mondays in early 2010 from 4 January to 8 February, with each episode dedicated to a qualifying group, and the sixth episode being the final. [5] The UK broadcast was produced by IMG Media for Bravo and featured presenters Martin Bayfield and Zöe Salmon, with some guest presenters including Bill Kazmaier and Svend Karlsen. The commentators were Paul Dickenson and Colin J L Bryce and the outside broadcast was performed by 021 Television Ltd. [6]
The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of December each year. Competitors qualify based on placing in the top three at the four to eight Giants Live events each year. The current event sponsor is SBD Apparel. Previous sponsors include Tachi Palace, Coregenx, Commerce Hotel and Casino, DAF Trucks, Tonka, MET-Rx, and PartyPoker.com.
Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully competed in strongman competitions. However, strongman events also test physical endurance to a degree not found in powerlifting or other strength-based sports, such as carrying refrigerators, flipping truck tires, and pulling vehicles with a rope.
The Strongman Super Series, known from 2001 to 2004 as the IFSA World Strongman Super Series, from 2005 to 2008 as the World's Strongest Man Super Series, and reverting in 2009 to the World Strongman Super Series, is a sequence of grand prix events in the sport of strength athletics. It was introduced in 2001 in response to concerns that, unlike other individual sports such as golf or tennis, there was no recognized international "tour" in strength athletics. The Strongman Super Series ensures that there are a number of high-profile, professionally run contests during the year, with competitors' placings being used to decide the overall Super Series Champion.
Žydrūnas Savickas is a Lithuanian powerlifter and professional strongman. Due to his 84 international wins in major international strongman competitions including four World's Strongest Man championships, eight Arnold Strongman Classic championships, two IFSA Strongman World Championships, and over 70 world records, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time.
The International Federation of Strength Athletes was an international governing body for strongman competition. IFSA operated from 1995 to 2007 and was based in Glasgow, Scotland.
Derek Poundstone is an American former professional strongman and strength coach from Woodbridge, Connecticut. He was the runner-up at the 2008 World's Strongest Man, a two-time Arnold Strongman Classic champion, and a three-time winner of America's Strongest Man. Poundstone is also a police Sergeant for the Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Department and is the former owner and landlord of an apartment complex and gym.
Travis Ortmayer is an American professional Strongman athlete from Cypress, Texas. He is nicknamed the Texas Stoneman due to his many world records in the Atlas Stone event.
Britain's Strongest Man is an annual strongman event held in the United Kingdom. Competitors qualify for the final through regional heats and the winner is awarded the title of "Britain's Strongest Man". The competition is produced by TWI and serves as a qualifying event for the World's Strongest Man ("WSM") competition, also a TWI production.
Mark Felix is a Grenadian-English strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed at a record 18 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the finals three times. He is the winner of the 2015 Ultimate Strongman Masters World Championships, 2016 WSF World Cup India and has won numerous international grip contests, including the Rolling Thunder World Championships in 2008 and 2009, as well as the Vice Grip Viking Challenge in 2011 and 2012. Having competed in over 100 international competitions throughout 19 years, Felix is the 3rd most prolific strongman contestant in history.
The Strongman Champions League is a strongman competition circuit, with several Grand Prix events throughout the year and the Strongman Champions League overall champion title going to the overall winner at the end of the season. The competitors include some of the top athletes in the sport, including Žydrūnas Savickas, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Krzysztof Radzikowski, Aivars Šmaukstelis, Mikhail Koklyaev, Ervin Katona, Andrus Murumets, Nick Best, Travis Ortmayer, Vytautas Lalas, Laurence Shahlaei and Terry Hollands. Initially in close partnership with IFSA, it quickly asserted its independence and has acted as a unifying force in the world of strength athletics, bringing together athletes from IFSA with those affiliated to the World's Strongest Man circuit, and having close cooperation with other major events such as Fortissimus. In 2012, SCL began co-promoting the new Arnold Strongman Classic-Europe contest which will become part of the annual SCL season of events.
The World Strongman Cup Federation ("WSCF") was a worldwide organisation within strength athletics that claimed to be the sport's organising body with the aim of making "the Strongman Sport more popular and accessible for a wide range of the people." Its motto was "be strong". It was also a charity. The Federation organised the World Strongman Cup one of the main competitions in the field of strength athletics boasting participation from some of the foremost strongmen around the globe. It was a separate competition from the World's Strongest Man, the Strongman Super Series and the IFSA World Championship). It has since been replaced by the World Strongman Federation's World Cup.
The Fortissimus is a defunct event in strength athletics. The name means "the mightiest" and was a multi-event challenge at the end of which the winner is crowned as the "Strongest Man on Earth". It was set up to bring together the strongest competitors on the planet independent of the organisations to which they were signed, and also as a tribute to the nineteenth-century Canadian strongman Louis Cyr, which gave it many similarities to Le Defi Mark Ten International which last took place in Canada in the early 1990s. After its first airing in 2008, the strength athletics magazine Milo described it as the ultimate strongman competition ever held. Despite a successful edition in 2009, a reported lack of a major sponsor for 2010 resulted in the competition being suspended, no future contests have been announced.
Giants Live was created in 2009 as the official Tour that qualifies strongmen to compete in the annual World's Strongest Man contest. At each Grand Prix, up to twelve international strongmen come together and compete over six events. The top three at each contest will receive an invitation to compete at the World's Strongest Man contest for that same year.
The Beauty and The Beast Strongman Challenge, also known as the Beauty and The Beast World Strongman Challenge was a short-lived annual strongman competition that was notable for the calibre of the entrants it attracted, as well as for the reputation it attained in a short amount of time.
Brian Shaw is an American retired professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all-time. He won the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 World's Strongest Man competitions, and in 2011, became the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year, a feat he replicated in 2015. With 27 international competition wins, he is the fourth most decorated strongman in history behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas, Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
Louis-Phillipe Jean is a Canadian strongman competitor and entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition on multiple occasions.
The World Strongman Challenge was one of the most enduring annual strongmen competitions, running in various guises for twenty years, with only two years break. In that time it attained the position of one of the most prestigious strongman contest in the world, after the World's Strongest Man and the World Muscle Power Classic. As with its two international counterparts it attracted the top quality strength athletes of its era, which included every winner of the World's Strongest Man competition from 1980 onwards including Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Geoff Capes and Bill Kazmaier from the 1980s right up to the current WSM champion Žydrūnas Savickas.
Robert Szczepański is a Polish boxer, powerlifter and strongman competitor. Prior to competing in strongman, Szczepański coached boxing and Powerlifting, and in 1993 he won a bronze medal in boxing at the Polish Junior Championships. Robert began competing in strongman in 2002. He has a wife, Magda, and a son Dorian.
Krzysztof Radzikowski is a professional strongman competitor from Głowno, Poland. He has competed in 112 International strongman competitions and has won 23 of them, making him the fifth most decorated strongman in history following Žydrūnas Savickas, Mariusz Pudzianowski, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Brian Shaw.
The World Log Lift Championships is an annual competition featuring strength athletes from all over the world, competing exclusively in the log clean and press. Created initially as part of the Strongman Champions League, it has since been part of Giants Live and the championship occasionally switches between the two series.